First Lady laments astronomical rise in GBV cases

Fri, 12 May 2017 12:50:28 +0000

By CHIKUMBI KATEBE

FIRST Lady Esther Lungu says she is concerned with the increased Gender Based Violence cases reported, with over 500 more cases recorded from last year’s statistics.

Mrs Lungu said Zambia has continued to record high numbers in GBV incidences with women and children being the most vulnerable.

Speaking on the occasion to commemorate the achievements of the National Legal Aid Clinic for Women (NLACW), the First Lady said recent Zambia Police Service statistics indicated that 5,464 GBV cases were recorded in the first quarter of 2017 compared to 4,998 recorded in the same period in 2016.

“At the end of 2016 a total of 18,540 GBV cases were reported countrywide, signifying an increase of 2.4 percent over the cases of 2015.

“Of the reported cases, 24 were murder cases related to GBV compared to 13 during the first quarter period,” she said.

Ms Lungu disclosed that even the number of women seeking divorce in the courts of law was on the rise.

She said even after divorce, women have continued to suffer enormous abuse owing to lack of legal representation because they do not get fair share of the matrimonial property, child custody and maintenance.

She charged that access to legal services, including information and representation, was paramount in getting justice for the vulnerable in society, for whom the NLACW was essential, with up to 1,000 women represented every year.

“It was gratifying that legal aid services have been decentralized and the provision of paralegal services is being offered in rural communities coupled with technical back-stopping by the NLACW.

“The establishment of 69 desks in 30 districts around Zambia is clearly commendable and more should be dome to ensure that paralegal desks are stablished and set up in all the districts in the country,” she said.

Mrs Lungu commended the work of the NLACW and said everybody should join the fight against the escalating GBV in the country to protect the rights of the marginalized, including women, children and the disabled.

And Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Linda Kasonde praised Government for promoting access to legal services countrywide.

Ms Kasonde said the NLACW was a LAZ project established in 1990 in response to increasing women complaints of abuse especially related to widows and child support issues, but that it had evolved with time and was now dealing with women and children requiring legal assistance.